New EP "Through This Fire" : Listen on Spotify | Order CD

Michael McFarland: Anthemic Lovestruck Indie Rock

Aggressively catchy melodies pair with soul-filled lyrics in musical architect Michael McFarland’s refreshing take on indie rock. Garnering comparisons ranging from modern rock acts such as Weezer and Bastille to classic singer-songwriters such as Paul Simon and Elton John, McFarland’s songwriting is frank, expressive, and clever. Performing live-looping acrobatics as a one-man rock show, or backed by his four-piece band The Mess Makers, the Cleveland, Ohio-based performer elevates the material on stage with a seemingly inexhaustible energy. Showing a maturity of style and sound that has developed through years of travel, relationships, heartbreaks, and reinventions, McFarland’s music contains talent, passion, and lyrics that come from the heart. The result? A big, bright, and lovestruck slice of anthemic indie rock.


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  • Press Clippings

    “The percussion is precise and powerful, as well as the vocals… he knows how to use musical dynamics and silences in order to emphasize a specific part of the song.”

    - Edrick Ziegler, NevermindMX

    “Michael McFarland is a musician invested in wasting none of the tape on which he’s allowed to record. He sells the audience the verse, then sells them a chorus, then they get their checkbooks out. All of this while gliding through carefully calibrated vocal melodies. He’s already as good as many of his retro-rock influences.”

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    - Eduard Banulescu, Alt77

    “Cleveland Native Michael McFarland is a Musical Architect”

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    - Bill Smith, The Rock Office

    “The EP is stripped down and raw, it’s McFarland and a guitar but you know what, it’s good, some parts are really good and it’s well worth picking up.”

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    - Bear, ClevelandRockAndRoll

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